Which? slams airlines for excessive card fees
Budget airlines could be banned from slapping customers with excessive credit and debit card charges following a super-complaint by the consumer watchdog Which?
Which? plans to ask the Office of Fair Trading to investigate what it describes as the "murky practice" of surcharges levied on customers who pay with plastic.
It claims that although the charges are imposed by retailers, local authorities and other organizations, budget airlines are the worst offenders as they charge a fee per passenger, per leg even though they have to process only one payment.
Which? claims the charges are far higher than the actual cost of processing payments, which can be as low as 20p per transaction for debit cards and no more than 2% of the transaction cost for credit cards, it says.
It is calling for companies to absorb the ‘low’ cost of debit card transactions and for charges for credit cards to be no more than the cost of processing the transaction. It also says any charges should be made clear at the outset as many low-cost airlines only add the fees at the booking stage.
"There is simply no justification for excessive card charges. Paying by card should cost the consumer the same amount that it costs the retailer," said Which? chief executive Peter Vicary-Smith.
"Companies should not be using card processing costs as an excuse for boosting their profits.
"Low-cost airlines are some of the worst offenders when it comes to excessive card surcharges but this murky practice is becoming ever-more widespread, from cinemas to hotels and even some local authorities."
The watchdog’s complaint will be handed to the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) on March 7, after which the regulator has 90 days to decide whether to act.
If the OFT believes Which? has a valid argument, it will launch a full investigation of its own.
By Linsey McNeill
Linsey McNeill
Editor Linsey McNeill has been writing about travel for more than three decades. Bylines include The Times, Telegraph, Observer, Guardian and Which? plus the South China Morning Post. She also shares insider tips on thetraveljournalist.co.uk
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